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Before the disappearance of an American degree in the Dominican Republic, She and the last people with whom she was seen on March 6 had had to swim in rough surfing, and asked questions about liability that the resort in which they stayed.
In the early morning hours of March 6th, Sudiksha Konanki and her friends went from a hotel bar to the beach outside the Riu Republica in Punta Cana, where she lived out of the five female friends University of Pittsburgh.
The 20-year-old apparently went with a 22-year-old man named Joshua Riibe from Iowa, who was identified as a witness in her disappearance. Riibe apparently said the authorities of the Dominican Republic that they went swimming and were hit by a large wave, which was the last time he saw them.
“I was a long time ago at the Natale Holloway examination, and although there are some similarities here, there are some differences,” said Chris Swecker, former director for the deputy division of FBI Criminal Investigative Division, to FOX News Digital. “But in this case I think that it is plausible based on everything I read that it is drowning. … I don’t think it is a fancy assumption that they were both pretty drunk.”
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, has missing in the Republic of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, since March 6. (Handout/ Santiago Baez for Fox News Digital)
Riibe told the police that he drank vodka with 7up and tequila shots and added that the group of women with whom he had been “pink tequila shots” who drank them as a group.
He and Konanki went into the water on the beach, while two of her friends stayed ashore. Riibe and Konanki talked when a “big wave” she met, said Ribe. At that time there was a red flag war on the beach, which indicates that people do not swim in rough surf.
The American College student disappears in the Dominican Republic: timeline
In January, four tourists drowned near Punta Cana, when a red flag warned of strong currents and rough seas, said the Associated Press.
On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, the local authorities are looking for a missing US student Sudiksha Konanki in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Santiago Baez for Fox News Digital)
“When it comes to the ocean … If you don’t recover a body pretty quickly, the sea life will take care of it,” said Swecker. “And we haven’t seen a body in the meantime.”
Swecker, who is also a lawyer, added that he could definitely see a liability problem for the resort in connection with Konankis.
“Depending on the industrial standards for such a resort, where there is enough cameras, whether … people were outside the hotel because of a power failure. Should there be security on the beach?” he asked.
Sudiksha Konanki on a Facebook selfie photo. The 20-year-old junior of the University of Pittsburgh has been missing since March 6. (Sudiksha Konanki/Facebook)
Just two hours before Konankis, Riu Republica had settled an almost 25-hour power failure that was affected by about 30% of the resort, and left some people without light, water, Wi-Fi or electricity in their rooms for loading telephones or other electronics.
“In response to publications that associate the electrical failure in the Riu Republica Hotel with the tragic disappearance of Gast Sudiksha Chowdary Konanki, the Riu Hotels & Resorts would like to clarify that both events are not completely connected,” said Riu Resorts & Hotels previously Fox News Digital in a statement.
The parent company of the Hotel Mutter added that the efforts of the employees of the employees of the employees of Riu Republica “in relation to commitment, commitment and professionalism when solving a serious technical failure within hours and reducing the effects on services during this time were.”
The investigators have expanded the search area because the American college student Sudiksha Konanki remains. (Fox News Graphics)
Luis Vilchez, a lawyer in the Dominican Republic, does not believe that the resort is liable, unless the guests prove that “the hotel or his employees ruthlessly acted”.
“If the guest acted ruthlessly, the hotel would in principle not be held liable.”
“In a similar way, it would have to be proven in relation to beach swimming conditions that the hotel did not provide adequate signage in order to inform the guests about the proper use of the beach,” Vilchez told Fox News Digital.
“If the guest acted ruthlessly, the hotel would in principle not be held liable – for example, if the guest swam outside of the intended hours if there was no lifeguard on duty and despite visible hazard signs such as red flags that indicate bad weather.”
Military personnel are looking for Sudiksha Konanki in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on March 10. (AP/Francesco Spotorno)
He continued: “In this special case, I see no reasons for a claim against the resort if two adults do not follow the security measures set by the hotel to prevent accidents.
Swecker said that Konanki’s family would sue the resort for negligence if there was no “insufficient security”, “inadequate lighting on the beach” or the non -supply of the beach during a red flag warning.
Fox News Digital turned to the Riu Republica for a comment.
Konanki was most recently seen on surveillance material, which with seven other people, including five women and two men, walked from Riu Republica to the beach around 4:15 a.m. on March 6th. According to the public prosecutor’s office of the Dominican Republic and the hotel, she was last seen on the beach at 4:50 a.m.
The local authorities will take part in the search for missing students Sudiksha Konanki on March 11, 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News Digital)
Hotel monitoring material then shows a group of six people, including five women and a man who returns from the beach to the hotel around 5:55 a.m.
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The young man, who was previously seen with Konanki, can be seen on surveillance material that enter the inside of the hotel at around 9 a.m.
The authorities ask everyone to contact the Sheriff office of the Loudoun County under number 703-777-1021. To stay anonymous, call Loudoun Crime Solver at 703-777-1919.
Michael Ruiz and Ashley Papa from Fox News contributed to this report.
